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info
Due to its resemblance to plumeria
(Plumeria obtusa, white calachuche) and being introduced from Bangkok,
Thailand, the plant is called Bangkok kalachuchi in the Philippines.
Botany
Attractive succulent shrub with thick
or swollen trunk, growing up to 3 meters high. Stems exude a milky sap.
Leaves are spatulate, dark green, deciduous, fleshy and spirally arranged,
clustered at the tips of the shoots. Flowers are showy, funnel-shaped
with five distinct pinkish or light red lobes.
Distribution
Native to South African countries,
and from Bangkok to the Philippines.
Common garden cultivation.
Parts utilized
Bark, roots, sap.
Constituents
and properties
Study has yielded some 30 cardiotoxic
glycosides with actions similar to digitalis.
Roots and stems contain the same glycosides.
Oleandrigenin has been shown to have cytotoxic effects.
Uses
Folkloric
No recorded folkloric medicinal use
in the Philippiines.
In Arabian traditional
medicine, sap and bark are used to treat bone dislocations, rheumatism,
sprains, paralysis, swellings, wounds, skin infections.
In Saudi Arabia and Yemen,
the juice from the stem and crushed bark is applied on wounds.
In Sahel, Africa, a decoction
of roots, alone or in combination with other plants, is used for treatment
of venereal diseases. Root or bark extract is used as bath or lotion
for skin diseases and lice. Latex is used for decaying teeth and septic
wounds.
In Somalia, root decoction
used as nose drops for rhinitis.
In Kenya, latex is rubbed
on the head for lice.The bark is chewed as abortifacient.
Others
In Senegal and Ethiopia,
used as arrow poison.
In Kenya, used for ethnoveterinary
control of lice and fleas in livestock. Powdered stems used for skin
parasites of camels and cattle.
Used in magic potions.
Studies
• Cytotoxicity / Antitumor:
(1) Phytochemical study yielded cardenolides somalin, hongheloside A,
16-acetylstrospeside, honghelin and flavonol quercetin. Ethanol extract
exhibited activity against human epidermoid carcinoma of the nasopharynx
test system. (2) Study showed AO exhibited very strong cytotoxicty against
2 human colon carcinoma cell lines. (3) Study yielded two pregnanes possessing a 16-en-20-one system from the leaves of A obesum which exhibited a cytotoxic activity against murine leukemia P388/S cells.
• Phytochemicals / Cardiac Glycosides: Roots and stems of A obesum yielded 30 cardiac glycosides – 15 know glycosides and 15 new combinations of aglycones and sugars. Oleandrigenin-beta-gentiobiosyl-beta-D-thevetoside was the main glycoside.
Caution
Leaves and flowers are poisonous to goats and cattle.
Source of fish and arrow poison prepared from the latex of the bark
and fleshy parts of the trunk, but always in combination with other
poisons. In Africa, despite its toxicity, is used in medical applications
and magic potions. source
In a wide area of Africa, arrow poison is prepared from the root sap;
sometimes from the wood or stem latex. It provides a quick kill for
big game hunting. In Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon, fish poison is prepared
from a decoction of the bark and leaves.
Availability
Cultivated.
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